A fuel cell vehicle includes a fuel cell stack in which a plurality of individual fuel cells is stacked, a fuel supply system to supply hydrogen, etc., serving as fuel to the fuel cell stack. An air supply stem supplies oxygen serving as an oxidant to create an electrochemical reaction. A water and heat management system controls a temperature of the fuel cell stack. The fuel supply system supplies the hydrogen to a fuel electrode (anode) of the fuel cell stack by reducing a pressure of compressed hydrogen stored in a hydrogen tank, and the air supply system supplies external air to an air electrode (cathode) of the fuel cell stack by using an air blower.
When oxygen is supplied to the fuel electrode of the fuel cell stack and the air is supplied to the air electrode, hydrogen ions are generated through a catalytic reaction on the fuel electrode. The generated hydrogen ions migrate through an electrolyte membrane and reach the air electrode as an oxidation electrode. In the oxidation electrode, the hydrogen ions create the electrochemical reaction with electrons and oxygen, which produces energy. To be more specific, an electrochemical oxidation reaction with the hydrogen occurs on the fuel electrode, and an electrochemical reduction reaction with the oxygen occurs on the air electrode. At this time, electricity and heat are produced due to movement of the electrons and vapor, or water is produced through the chemical reaction between the hydrogen and the oxygen.
The fuel cell vehicle further includes a discharging apparatus that discharges byproducts, such as vapor, water, and heat generated during the production of energy, and unused gases such as hydrogen and oxygen. The vapor and gases such as the hydrogen and oxygen are discharged through an exhaust duct.
However, if a voltage develops in a state where the oxygen remains on the fuel cell electrode, carbon corrosion occurs in a catalyst layer of a membrane electrode assembly (MEM), deteriorating durability of the fuel cell stack.
The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and is not intended to mean that the present disclosure falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.